Kellyville Schools respond to claims of denied lunches

Kellyville Public Schools is responding to a social media post claiming that students were not allowed to eat lunch because they didn’t have money.

The superintendent says the district isn’t denying meals to any student. He says that it is district policy never to prevent a student from eating a meal at school.

In the future, he would like to address concerns before they reach social media.

The post on social media is drawing significant attention to Kellyville Schools.

The writer says she is saddened to hear that some students didn’t get lunch on the first day of school because they didn’t have money. Several people reacted to, commented on, and shared the post.

The post also caught the attention of Kellyville Schools Superintendent Dan Gist, who began investigating the situation.

“Our policy is very clear: We will not deny a kid a meal if they do not have money,” Gist said.

Gist contacted the company that supplies the school’s food and the cafeteria staff. When nothing unusual was found, he spoke directly with the student body.

“We addressed it with all 7th and 8th graders—if you did not receive a meal yesterday or were told you didn’t have money for one, we want you to come down here and talk to us,” he said.

Gist reports that one student came to his office to say she didn’t get French fries at lunch. Another student told him that he didn’t get lunch because he thought he couldn’t have one without money.

Gist reassured that no student will go without lunch, regardless of whether they can pay for it.

He is hopeful that parents with concerns will speak with him before turning to social media.

“The way I feel, we would love for them to come to us first and ask questions. If we’re wrong and we’ve done something wrong, I’ve got no problem admitting that,” Gist said.

Gist noted that the district is charging for lunches again this year, after all students ate for free last year. The district did not qualify for the grant allowing all lunches to be free this year.

The district lists the price for each school meal on its website.